


A Study in Flannel

by ellebeedarling



Series: After All This Time [5]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Fluff, M/M, More Fluff, domestic porn, flannel porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 09:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10303958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellebeedarling/pseuds/ellebeedarling
Summary: FallingOverSideways asked for post-war domesticity and cuddles. Ask and ye shall receive!Lots of fluff ahead!Artwork by FallingOverSideways!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FallingOverSideways](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingOverSideways/gifts).



_[Amazing art](http://shotce.tumblr.com/post/158181737907/you-know-shep-had-to-pick-the-outfit-doodle) by the incredibly lovely [FallingOverSideways](http://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingOverSideways/pseuds/FallingOverSideways)! _

 

__

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Kaidan's whiskey-smooth voice murmured in his ear, “time to wake up.”

 

Shepard grumbled something incoherent then burrowed further into the covers, pulling Kaidan's arms around him and holding tightly. Kaidan gave him a drowzy chuckle and a sweet kiss behind the ear, unable to resist squeezing him even tighter. It hadn't been that long ago that he'd had to wonder if mornings like this would ever be a reality for them. His lips traced a new scar that ran along the top of Shepard's shoulder, and John sighed in contentment.

 

“Looks like a beautiful day,” he said softly, and Kaidan agreed with him. Warm sun streamed in through the willowy curtains of his old room at the orchard, highlighting the dust motes that floated in the air. They'd come here to let John rest and heal, and his mother was spoiling them, fattening them up with apple pie. Since food was still in rather short supply, it was one of the few things she could make them from scratch. John didn't seem to mind that she served it nearly every day, though he did drag Kaidan out for a stroll through the orchard every evening. Kaidan suspected that it was as much about being alone together as it was about exercising off the pie.

 

He was getting stronger. Color was returning to his cheeks, and the apple pie was doing it's job in filling out the hollow places on his body that had developed during the months of his recovery. Kaidan knew how lucky they were to have this. He refused to let himself dwell on the ones less fortunate than they were. Far too many never got their happy ending, but nearly everyone left in the galaxy were in agreement – the man who'd saved them all deserved all the happiness he could find, and then some. Kaidan was simply grateful that he was the one who had the pleasure of trying to make that happen.

 

Shepard's fingers toyed gently with the downy hair coating Kaidan's arms, and he let out a yawn. “What do you want to do today?”

 

Kaidan stretched as much as he could without squirming out of John's hold. “Mom needs us to chop some more firewood.”

 

“Hmm...” Shepard twisted around until he was facing Kaidan, rubbing their noses together briefly before grinning. “Lumberjack Kaidan. I'm liking the sound of that.” He shifted closer, throwing a leg up over Kaidan's hip. “Will you wear a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up?” John dotted his jaw with fluttering little kisses.

 

“Not sure if I have any flannel shirts, John,” Kaidan chuckled, tipping his head back to offer his neck up to more of John's attentions.

 

“You should remedy that.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Mmhm... flannel is sexy,” he nipped at Kaidan's ear. “Biceps wrapped in flannel are even sexier.”

 

Kaidan giggled when John's lips started tickling.

 

“But, if you want to be really sexy in flannel, you have to leave the first few buttons undone so I can see your chest.” His fingers moved through the hair coating Kaidan's chest, then he moved down to nuzzle his face against it.  
  


“And what are you going to be doing while I'm working my ass off, sweating to death because I'm coated in flannel.”

 

“Drooling? Trying to keep my boner under control?”

 

They shared a laugh and a languid kiss. “I love mornings like this,” Kaidan sighed happily. He rolled onto his back, and Shepard shifted to rest his head on Kaidan's chest, humming in agreement.

 

“It is nice.”

 

They stayed quiet awhile, fingers idly stroking soft skin. “You really have a thing for guys in flannel?”

 

John tilted his head to look up at Kaidan, “You don't? It's sexy as hell!”

 

“I guess I'll take your word for it.”

 

“Now I feel I must take that as a personal challenge,” Shepard said, rising from the bed and heading over to Kaidan's closet. Kaidan laughed as he watched him digging through the clothes. “Aha!” A blue flannel shirt flew through the air and fell to the floor about a foot short of the bed. Shepard kept digging. “Here we go!” he announced after another minute's searching. He pulled out a red flannel shirt with a smug grin then sauntered toward the shower.

 

**

 

If Kaidan were being honest with himself, he'd admit that he'd never given men in flannel shirts a second thought. And maybe it was just Shepard, or maybe it really was the flannel, but damned if he wasn't having a hard time focusing on his work. His mom had already called him out on it once during breakfast. Incidentally, she'd served cinnamon-apple rolls, and John had praised her for her ingenuity in creating a new use for the abundance of apples they possessed. Then he'd proceeded to stand behind her lewdly licking frosting off his fingers until Kaidan had been forced to avert his eyes and stare out the window and think about Mrs. Clayborne, his first grade teacher who had this hideous mole on the end of her nose with hairs growing out of it, until his erection went away enough for him to stand and clear the table.

 

“Didn't you sleep well, Kaidan?” his mother had asked him after he knocked over a glass of juice and dropped his fork on the floor. “You certainly seem out of sorts this morning.

 

“Fine, mom. Just... already planning ahead for the day.” It wasn't a complete lie, and Kaidan didn't have to look to know that Shepard wore a shit eating grin on his stupid face.

 

“What exactly are you planning,” Shepard sidled up beside him and asked, voice all husky, when his mom stepped out of the room for a moment.

 

“You are evil,” Kaidan hissed. John kissed his cheek and walked away with a little added sway to his hips. Kaidan cursed under his breath and started thinking about Mrs. Clayborne again.

 

After breakfast they headed down to the barn. Kaidan chopped the wood, while John stacked it neatly on the trailer so they could haul it up to the house later.

 

“So...” John started, reaching for a couple pieces

 

“Don't-”

 

“You gonna give me your wood, Kaidan?” He snickered.

 

Kaidan sighed, then grinned, “Not sure you could handle my wood right now, Shepard.”

 

“Oh! That was a low blow!”

 

“Oh for god's...” Kaidan rolled his eyes and got back to work, stealing surreptitious glimpses of the man every so often.

 

Shepard made a disgruntled noise, glaring at his sap coated hands. “Your wood got me all sticky!”

 

“You are utterly ridiculous, you know that?”

 

“I know,” John grinned and wrapped his arms around Kaidan's waist, nibbling on the back of his neck. “You love me.”

 

Kaidan huffed and rolled his eyes again. It seemed like each time he glanced at John, the man was doing something ridiculously sexy, like moving or breathing or drinking water and other distracting things like that. John had already caught him staring more than once, which did nothing to quell the man's smugness. Between that and his incessant, stupid dick jokes, Kaidan was more than a little distracted. When he looked up and saw Shepard sitting on the end of the trailer with one knee bent and the other leg dangling down like some damn model in a fashion magazine, he dropped the ax and stalked over to his lover, yanking him up by the collar of that dumb flannel shirt, and dragged him into the barn.

 

**

 

“Told you,” John said as they lay gasping for air in a pile of hay in the dim barn. The weather was just cold enough to be uncomfortable, especially in the dampness of the old building.

 

“Fine. I concede the point. Flannel shirts are sexy. Happy?”

 

“Mmm,” Shepard shifted closer, wrapping himself around Kaidan's naked body. “Very happy.”

 

“We should, uh... mom might come down here looking for us, you know? It's got to be getting close to lunch time.”

 

“'Kay,” he sighed, but made no effort to move.

 

“Seriously, John. Do you really want my mom to catch you with your bare ass hanging out?”

 

“Not particularly.”

 

“Alright, so...”

 

“Fine... I'm getting up.” They kept stealing shy glances at one another as they redressed then helped each other dust the hay off their shirts. “Hay makes your ass really itchy,” Shepard complained, and Kaidan barked a laugh.

 

“You can shower before your afternoon nap.”

 

“You should join me for my afternoon nap,” Shepard said, tugging Kaidan toward him until their lips were melded together.

 

“You won't get much napping done if I join you.”

 

“Do you hear me complaining?”

 

“I'll have to see if I can sneak away. In the meantime, let's get this wood up to the house.”

 

John snickered again.

 

**

 

The morning's activities had seriously depleted Shepard's already-low energy reserves, and as soon as the noon meal was finished he staggered up the stairs to pass out. Kaidan wandered up an hour later to find him sprawled, face first on the bed, still snoozing away. There were still a few pieces of hay stuck to the back of his flannel shirt, and that sight conjured up other images that had Kaidan's blood running just a little hotter than normal. Carefully, he crawled onto the bed, draping himself over John's body, and nuzzling his nose against the man's ear. Shepard shifted around so that he was the little spoon, and Kaidan could wrap his arms around him again, drifting right back to sleep.

 

Kaidan was content to lie there and hold him, breathing in the scent of him – now mingled with hard work and the musty barn, but somehow still managing to be intoxicating. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he woke to find Shepard gazing at him with a sappy smile, love reflecting from the depths of those baby blues. “Hey,” Kaidan said, sucking in a sharp breath.

 

“Hey.” John's lips were on his in the next instant, tender and searching. One hand slid around his neck, finding purchase in the thick mop of hair on his head, while the other set to work on the buttons of Kaidan's flannel shirt. A knock at the door had John groaning in frustration and Kaidan chuckling.

 

“Kaidan, can you two come help me with something?”

 

“Sure thing, mom. We'll be right down.” He pecked Shepard's lips one more time. “Duty calls, Commander.”

 

For whatever reason, Mrs. Alenko had decided that the carpet in the den had to be cleaned – today. John and Kaidan spent the afternoon moving furniture from one room to the other so that she could clean the carpet, and seeing John moving around in that flannel shirt again was doing uncomfortable things to Kaidan's groin. However, the wince that flickered across John's face after moving yet another couch sobered him rather quickly.

 

“You're doing too much,” he said.

 

“I'm fine.” Shepard straightened his back, rubbing at one of the tender muscles, giving Kaidan a sheepish look when he couldn't quite contain his hiss of pain.

 

“Come on. We can finish this later.”

 

“Your mom-”

  
“Don't argue with me, John. Do you want to set your recovery back by trying to do too much too soon?”

 

“Did I miss something? When did you become my dad?” Shepard snapped.

 

“You can act all pissy if you want, but you're still going to go sit your ass down for a little while. Do you need a pain killer?”

 

“No.... maybe... yes.”

 

Kaidan chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Go sit on the porch, and I'll bring it to you.”

 

Shepard huffed, but did as he was told. Kaidan found him on the porch swing, gazing at the mountains in the distance. He wordlessly took the pill and set his glass on the floor, lacing his fingers with Kaidan's when he joined him on the swing. “My ass is still itchy from the hay in the barn.”

 

“Mine too,” Kaidan confessed with a laugh.

 

Shepard grinned at him and bumped their shoulders together. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

 

“Thanks for letting me.” They were quiet for awhile, enjoying the peace, the view, the weight of the others hand in his. “I didn't know...” Kaidan tried, but had to stop to swallow a wave of emotion. “I didn't know if we'd ever get this chance.” His voice was barely a hoarse whisper, and Shepard squeezed his hand tighter. “Didn't know if I'd have the opportunity to take care of you.”

 

“Hey...” With gentle fingers, John forced Kaidan to face him. “I'm here... It's going to take me awhile to build my strength back up, but I'm going to be fine.”

 

“I know... and I'm so... grateful just... just to be here with you... on the other side. For so long it seemed like the war would be endless.”

 

John wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer, pressing a soft kiss against his temple, and drawing his fingers through his hair. “It did. Every day it was harder to put one foot in front of the other, but I had to.”

 

Kaidan settled into his embrace, breathed him in again, and ran his fingers over his flannel covered chest. “I love you, John.”

 

“Love you too, Kaid,” he murmured with another kiss to the top of his head. “It was you I was fighting for, you know. Most of my life I was alone. If I hadn't met you, I would have finished the fight, but I wouldn't have lived through it. There was nothing to live for until you came along.”

 

“Well, I guess it's a good thing we met when we did, huh?”

 

“A very good thing.”

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I'm on tumblr if you care: ellebeedarling.tumblr.com
> 
> Much love,   
> Elle


End file.
